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Matthew Caretti

Bodhisattva

She makes me an offer I can refuse. So I say no before I say yes. Then change my mind, but end up changing it again. Or having it changed. The NGO’s director convinces and cajoles. She is after all a Zen nun quite certain of her inherent wisdom. She sends me on a retreat to strengthen my own resolve, then announces I will leave the schools at this orphanage to direct the operations at another. From the Warm Heart of Africa to the Kingdom in the Sky. As happens at such places, news of this coming transfer travels quickly. Ceremonies are arranged to make the farewell official. And where in Africa there is a formal gathering, there are speeches. Many of them. Mine the last. So there in the great hall, with my final words, an unyielding reminder to the children—and a tacit scolding meant for some of our more pious overseas volunteers—Don’t worry about being a Buddhist. Just work on becoming a Buddha.

sudden squall
incense smoke swirls
into nothing

About the Author

Matthew Caretti began publishing his poems in 2009, though his fascination with Eastern short-form genres began much earlier. In 2017, he won the Snapshot Press eChapbook Award for Harvesting Stones.

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